VivaVegie plants doubt in the minds of San Gennero feast-goers

by Julia Fauci

The feast of San Gennero is over, but many of the revelers of New York City's most-famous Italian street fair will have taken home with them more than just the stuffed animals they won as prizes there. They will have--however subliminally--taken with them a kernel of truth about meat.

The VivaVegie Society had something to do with that. Because while the vendors of sausage sandwiches had a frantic agenda to attend to, that is hawking as much meat to feast-goers as possible, so did VivaVegie.

"Cure for cancer. Cure for constipation. Right here, folks. Step right up. That's the benefits you'll have when you stop eating that stuff," VivaVegie activists called out to the crowd as they "walked the gauntlet" on Mulberry Street from Houston Street to Canal Street in Manhattan with a 3-foot tall cardboard picture cutout of "Babe" from the hit-movie by the same name.

The activists caused intense reactions from the shoulder to shoulder crowds at "The Feast" as they did their best to distribute as many copies of "101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian."

Between the ears of the endearing portrait of our intrepid hero "Babe," VivaVegie placed the simple statement, "Sausage Kills Me." And these words combined with the lovable image of "Babe" made quite a sensation.

Bright eyes and the hint of a smile in the poster pig's face worked to melt feast-goers on the spot.

"Get outta here with that. Go home!" vendors from booths grilling meat screamed, which was ironic because Pamela Rice lives right on Mulberry Street where this loud, stinking disruption lasts for 11 days every year.

"I am home," Pamela cried out, not a few times. "I live on this street! You go home!"